Flyzone S.E.5a success and failures

[Vlad]

So I decided that for $70 I couldn't pass up the chance to start flying with a WWI warbird. I have flown full sized planes before and had been playing combat simulators since I was a wee tot and figured that if I could handle flying anything from a Sopwith Camel to a Spitfire, even a Corsair along with the Cessna 170 I flew last summer, a simple S.E.5a would be a breeze. Well I was right... ish. I ordered the plane and got it on the second day of the Weak Signals con where I got to meet Chad, Josh Bixler, and Alex. I wish I would have invited them to partake in a madden flight with me so that I would have had an experienced copilot to get some help from, seeing as I am completely self taught. I had a wonderful maden, needed very little trim and was doing loops and some high alphas in no time. I landed a little rough and popped the landing gear off. I glued those back on and flew some more, crashed a lot, busted the motor out of place and glued it back in. The plane was beautiful at one point, now it looks like a monster. I still love it, its just ugly. Recently the wire for the battery came loose mid flight and I lost power and really buggered things up. I think the shaft might be a little crooked now and the motor doesnt work to its full potential. Also when I soldered the wire back in place it somehow reversed the throttle controls. Instead of up being full, down is full. While fixing the wire, i touched the wire to the wrong spot (with the battery in) while trying to find the right spot and a little black piece on the board started spitting smoke. It still works now, just not to its fullest potential. My question is, am I at the point where I should be looking for a second plane to be flying or should I be scrapping the current plane for parts, or should I be replacing parts on my current plane? Advice please, and if someone would like to be my mentor that would be sweet.

 

[rcspaceflight]

I'd say you're at the point where you should get a second plane. It always amazes me when people can actually get a lot of flight time out of their first plane. Mine didn't last so long. Nor did my second... up until about my tenth. But I never bought an RTF so I had a lot of learning to do.

You certainly can, and maybe even should, fix your current plane. Unless the parts you need to buy are too much. It sounds like you just need a new ESC. Which shouldn't cost too much. But it sounds like your plane is rather beat up. So I suggest buying a second plane, also fix your current, and fly both.

As far as what you're second plane should be... no clue. I don't know what your "goals" are with this hobby. It's always a great idea to try other aspects of the hobby, but it depends on where you fly and where you can fly. A bigger plane can be more fun, but you'd need a lot more room to fly. But a second plane similar to yours could be a great idea. Just not the exact same plane, but something that you can use the same Tx and battery charger on.

 

[Vlad]

I was looking into a Micro Switch so that I can get that great 4 channel trainer feel and then when Im ready I can switch it to a mid wing sport plane. I think its pretty nifty. As far as my goals for the hobby, i guess its just to have fun. I really enjoy seaplanes, probably because my grandpa used to fly one, and old warbirds, because my grandpa helped raise me right. I do quite enjoy the look of older planes and scaled planes. Ideally with this current plane, I can fix it up for my grandpa to learn on and then get him into the more advanced planes like an FT Spitfire or a FT Cruiser painted to look like a Mosquito. But he will probably want to go straight from trainer to Tidewater or the closest thing he can find to a seabee.
Back to my S.E.5a, I will post a few pics tomorrow of the electronics for it and maybe you can point out which piece is the ESC because I dont recognise any of those tiny pieces on that chip. Im a prop maker and Nerf modder by trade. Im not used to electronics besides simple LED and motor jobs with single switches.

 

[rcspaceflight]

To be fair, I'm not sure if your plane has separate electronics or if everything is together onto one chip. It might be best to find a place/shop/site where you can buy the replacement parts and see what is available.

I'm not sure what my "goals" with this hobby are either. I do know that I don't really like flying wings. I'm not interested in multirotors. I guess I really like high wing planes. But lately I've been more interested in planes that last a long time. Mostly planes that protect the prop / motor. I don't like constantly buying props.

 

[Vlad]

I am looking into a multirotor just for live action production stuff I do on the side. I should probably brag about my "jobs" in my bio a bit more... I really want to try a wing out sometime, most preferably the Kraken. I need something with some heft so that I can mount stuff on it and be crazier than the Swede.